Friday, October 9, 2009

Crock Pot Sweet Potato and Black Bean Curry

This dish started with a conversation on twitter. A few people were discussing how to use black beans & coconut milk which of course led to the idea of a curry. So, my mind went like this "sweet potato is good in curry," "black beans are good with sweet potatoes," "why not sweet potato & black bean curry?"
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Curry
This was a total make-things-up-as-I-go-along kind of recipe. I had fully intended to make my own curry spice mixture but discovered I was out of about half of the spices I needed (time for a Penzey's run) luckily I had some curry powder. I also had planned to make it on the stove but then realized it would be a perfect crock pot dish. We had a little spinach left from our last CSA box so I decided to throw it in for the extra vitamins. Finally, when tasting it for seasonings I thought it needed something sweet so I sprinkled golden raisins on each dish.

The end result of this was a nice mild curry (well, mine was mild, Matt added more Sriracha to his). The flavors all played well together & the colors made for a pretty dish too. I do think the sweet potato got a little overcooked so in the recipe below I suggest adding it halfway through cooking time.

Crock Pot Sweet Potato and Black Bean Curry

1 chicken drumsticks & thighs, bone-in, skinless
1 c dry black beans
1 small onion, cut into large pieces
1 clove garlic minced
2 T curry powder
2 c chicken broth or stock
1/2 c coconut milk
3/4 - 1 lb orange sweet potato, peeled & cut into 1-inch cubes
salt
1/2 t Sriracha (more or less based on how hot you like your curry)
3 c spinach, roughly torn
golden raisins

Put the beans & 3 cups water in a pot. Bring to a boil. Cover & let simmer for 1 hour.

Put the chicken, beans, sweet potato, onion & garlic in a crock pot. Sprinkle with curry powder. Pour in the chicken broth & coconut milk. Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the sweet potato. Let cook for another 1 1/2 hour until everything is tender & the chicken is falling off the bone.

Taste & add salt & sriracha as needed. Pull chicken from the bones if desired & dispose of bones. Return chicken meat to pot. Stir in spinach & allow to wilt a little.

Serve over rice & sprinkle with raisins.

6 servings

I used bone-in chicken because it was what I had but you can use easily use boneless. You can also use canned beans & skip the soaking step.

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9 comments:

  1. This looks great! Some of my best meals have been a result of throwing random stuff together. I will definitely try this recipe, and maybe I'll throw something else in there, too.

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  2. Although I'll occasionally throw caution to the wind and toss a few somewhat complementary ingredients together without a recipe, I'm still nervous about ending up with an inedible mess. This dish, however, looks fantastic! It brings together so many favorite ingredients and flavors, black beans and coconut milk, in particular. I just want to dig in with a giant spoon! Thanks for another crockpot recipe - that underappreciated backbone of the winter kitchen!

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  3. what a crazy beautiful combination of ingredients! LOVE the black beans, LOVE the golden raisins, LOVE LOVE LOVE sriracha. pour it on for me, please. :)

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  4. Not only does this curried dish look incredible; I bet it has an unbelievable aroma, too!

    kat, please keep "twittering" and posting more of your creative ideas...

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  5. you know I'm all over this crazy combo. love this hello!

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  6. This looks awesome. My husband is not a sweet potato fan (I am), but loves curry; I wonder if this would go over well with him.

    Do you think canned black beans would work if someone does not have the time for dried? If so, when would you add them?

    Thanks for the great recipe, Joanne

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  7. Joanne - I think canned beans would work just fine, maybe add them halfway through cooking so they don't get too mushy. The sweet potato flavor is pretty subtle in this but you could also substitute a squash like butternut if he likes that better

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  8. We all need more vegetarian dishes in our diet. This is colourful, healthy and delish.

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